Samyang Foods' Buldak brand has turned into a lip balm in the United States, bringing the flavor and color of the spicy instant noodle line to cosmetics as the company courts American beauty shoppers. Buldak, which has already appeared in unusual tie-ups with cosmetics and toothpaste brands at home, is now working with a U.S. beauty label to strengthen its foothold there.
U.S. beauty brand Glow Recipe has released a limited-edition "glass balm duo" developed with Samyang Foods' Buldak, according to overseas media reports on the 16th.
The two lip balms are inspired by Buldak's signature Original and Carbonara sauces, and each product carries the package color of the sauce it is based on. Sales have already begun on TikTok Shop, with a rollout at Sephora stores and online planned soon. The duo is priced at $38, or about 50,000 won.
This is not the first time Buldak has extended its collaborations beyond food. In 2018, it partnered with Tonymoly on a "Burning Edition" lineup of five products — a cover cushion, a lip tint, a blusher, a lip care stick and a lip sauce tint — that borrowed the colors and textures of ingredients such as the original red sauce used in Buldak stir-fried noodles. In 2020, it joined Aekyung Industrial's 2080 brand to launch toothpaste and oral care sets featuring Hochi, the Buldak character.
The food and beverage industry has also kept up a run of Buldak sauce collaborations. A Twosome Place launched a Buldak cheese melt panini in January this year, followed in August by a Buldak corn cheese panini and a Buldak chicken baguette sandwich. Take, the buffet brand operated by Ourhome, introduced a Buldak collaboration menu in May. Last year, Burger King released a Crisper Buldak Chicken item and KFC rolled out two Buldak Chili Super Box menus. Overseas, Buldak has appeared in collaborations with KFC Singapore, Japanese snack maker Calbee, U.S. restaurant chain Panda Express and British dining chain Wagamama.
Industry watchers read the lip balm tie-up as part of an effort to grow Buldak from a noodle product into a lifestyle brand that can stretch across consumer categories. "Samyang Foods has been focusing on expanding Buldak's intellectual property, including the launch of a new Buldak character called Pepo," one industry official said. "This collaboration can also be seen as a move to widen the business beyond food and into content."
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